Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
The amount of garlic in this recipe may seem huge, but the garlic mellows and sweetens as it roasts. All your guests will taste is heavenly, heady, light potatoes “to die for.”
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 6
- 3 heads garlic
- 2 pounds potatoes (preferably thin-skinned creamers, red bliss, or round white Eastern potatoes), peeled
- 8 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup milk or cream
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- White pepper (optional)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap all three garlic heads into a pouch, fashioned from aluminum foil, and place in the center of the oven. Roast until garlic is very soft and yields to gentle finger pressure, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Roughly cut potatoes into large chunks, and boil in enough lightly salted water to cover until very tender, about 25–30 minutes depending on type and size of potato pieces.
Cut the garlic bulbs in half laterally. Using your hands, squeeze out the roasted garlic, and push it through a sieve.
Heat the butter and milk together in a small pan until the butter melts. Drain the potatoes well, then return them to the pot, put them on the stove, and cook over moderate heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute to steam off any excess moisture.
For smoothest mashed potatoes, force the potatoes through a ricer (see “For Supersmooth Spuds,” below). Otherwise, mash them with a potato masher or stiff wire whisk.
Add the roasted garlic purée, salt, pepper, and the cream mixture to the potatoes, and mix just enough to incorporate. Serve immediately, or keep warm for later service in a double boiler.
For Supersmooth Spuds
Pro chefs often force cooked potatoes through a device known as a “ricer” to break up any lumps and avoid over-mashing, which could result in gluey or gummy mashed potatoes. The ricer looks much like an oversized garlic press, with a plunger and a grate with small holes. You'll find them at better kitchen supply stores.
